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Girls with autism may not be identified because they do not show traditional signs of the disorder, an expert warns. Children with autistic spectrum disorders have poor social and communication skills. Hyperactivity, and interests in technical hobbies have been seen as characteristics of the disorder. View news story

Good friends promise to be there for you, and their presence can actually help you live longer, researchers say. Australian scientists said having friends around in old age can do more for life expectancy than having family members around. View news story

Meditating monks are giving clues about how the brain's basic responses can be overridden, researchers say. Australian scientists gave Buddhist monks vision tests, where each eye was concurrently shown a different image. Most people's attention would automatically fluctuate - but the monks were able to focus on just one image. View news story

A key hormone helps determine whether we will trust lovers, friends or business contacts, scientists claim. Exposure to an oxytocin "potion" led people to be more trusting, tests by University of Zurich researchers found. They report in the journal Nature that the finding could help people with conditions such as autism, where relating to others can be a problem. View new story

A key hormone helps determine whether we will trust lovers, friends or business contacts, scientists claim. Exposure to an oxytocin "potion" led people to be more trusting, tests by University of Zurich researchers found. They report in the journal Nature that the finding could help people with conditions such as autism, where relating to others can be a problem. View news story

US researchers say they have found a better way to counsel people with a form of prolonged grief. Bereavement causes strong emotional, physical and spiritual reactions that can take years to work through. Some develop a chronic, debilitating condition known as complicated grief that is more intense than normal grief and distinct from clinical depression. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association explains how 16 sessions of tailored therapy can help. View news story

Cancer survivors may be at risk of problems with mental abilities such as memory and learning, research suggests. It found those who had undergone cancer treatment were twice as likely to develop cognitive problems than people who had never been treated for cancer. The University of Southern California team say it is possible chemotherapy damage may be to blame, but stress more research is needed. View news story

Anti-social behaviour in some children could be the result of their genetic make-up, a study says. UK research on twins suggests children with early psychopathic tendencies, such as lack of remorse, are likely to have inherited it from their parents. View news story

Scientists say they have located the parts of the brain that comprehend sarcasm - honestly. By comparing healthy people and those with damage to different parts of the brain, they found the front of the brain was key to understanding sarcasm. Damage to any of three different areas could render individuals unable to understand sarcastic comments. View news story

If winning is everything, British anthropologists have some advice: Wear red. Their survey of four sports at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens shows competitors were more likely to win their contests if they wore red uniforms or red body armor. View news story

The brain reacts differently to the faces of people from different races, research shows. When volunteers looked at pictures of African-Americans, the brain area that processes emotions became active, a study in Nature Neuroscience found. When they looked at photos of Caucasian faces, the activity was much less. View news story

Growing research shows that babies as young as four months show a preference for certain colours. Dr Anna Franklin, from the Surrey Baby Lab, has studied more than 250 babies to look at which colours they prefer. View news story